Early Church's Influence On The Eucharist

Fathers of the Church on the Eucharist The early Church had many beliefs concerning the Eucharist. Although through time certain aspects of the Church has evolved, the beliefs about the Eucharist have remained quite constant. The sources from the Fathers of the Church have revealed a lot about the Eucharist, Christ’s presence through the Eucharist, and how the early Church’s Eucharistic service generally went.
The primary core belief that surrounded the Eucharist during the time of the early Christian Church was that the bread and the wine were not ordinary. Rather, they were truly Christ’s body and Christ’s blood. As Saint Ignatius of Antioch points out, “The Eucharist is the flesh of our savior Jesus Christ.” It isn’t just the flesh, however, but it “is both the flesh
St. Basil the Great explains that “to partake of the Holy Body and Blood of Christ is good and beneficial…” and he goes on to discuss that those who do in fact partake in the Eucharist will have eternal life. It was common belief that the Eucharist would give eternal life even after an earthly death. Sometimes it was even seen that the Eucharist could transform people from earthly and materialistic beings to something much more free... a body that hopes for heaven. It was also seen and still is today, as a way to have the light and life of Christ within us. The Eucharist is all about God feeding the people. Jesus’ sacrifice was so colossal that it is hard to imagine that any more could be given to us. God, however, is constantly continuing to nourish our faith through multiple outlets. One of these is obviously the Eucharist. Humans, or “the flesh feeds on the Body and Blood of Christ, so that the soul too may fatten on God.” (Tertullian) God wanted to ensure through this gift that the Church could come together from everywhere, no matter the language or ethnicity, and take part in Jesus